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THE SIKHS CARRYING THE GUNS. Pagc 7%. HEROES OF THE CHITliAL SIEGE. PUBIAISIIED USDER TIlE DIRECTION OF THE GENERAL LITERATURE COMMITTEE. LONDON: SOCIETY FOR PROA,IOTING CHRISTIAN I<NO\VLEDGE, N0RTHUMBERL:iND AVENUE, W.C. 43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C. BRIGHTGN : 129, NORTH STREET. NEW YORK: E. I% J. B. YOUNG AND CO. I-IEROES OF THE CHITKAL SIEGE CHAPTER I. IIO\lT TIIE TROUBLE BEGAN. F the gallant band of heroes that held the fort at Chitral for those forty- six terrible days, the names of Robertson, Campbell, Townshend, Gurdon, Harley, and Whitchurch, must make the heart of every schoolboy thrill. Up among the mountains, by which India is bounded on the north, reaching up to the range of the Hindu Kush, lies the Chitral terri- tory, a country about the size of Wales. The Chitralis are hardy hillmen, bold riders, strong swimmers, A light-hearted, merry people, they are devoted to games, and all of them love a dance. Every village has its polo ground. They play polo for hours together on their wiry little ponies, and the game always winds up wit11 a dance. It is a beautiful counti-y, too, surrounded by 6 HEROES OF THE CHITRAL SIEGE, its great grand hills. And in the fertile valleys fruit and flowers abound. Plums, cherries, peaches, and grapes grow there. The climbing rose, the pomegranate, and the honeysuckle are found in rich profusion. And the golden oriole, with its black-barred wings, flits silently from tree to tree. The king or ruler of Chitral is known by the title of Mehtar, and lives in the Chitral fort with his wives and their families. Chitral is the name of the capital town of the territory as well. Shakespeare says, " Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." And an Afghan proverb says that " Kings sleep on an ant-hill." If that is so, the Mehtar of Chitral has been no exception to the rule. For the Mehtar is ever in danger of his life-the murderer's tulwar lurking in a son's or brother's hand ready at the first oppor- tunity to strike the blow. So it is a common thing for the new Mehtar to kill or send into exile all relations that have a direct right to the Mehtarship, in order, as boys say, "to save his own skin." The disputes of the late Mehtars, their treachery and murders, brought about the great Chitral Campaign. This was how the quarrels began. In 1892 Aman-ul-Mulk, the great Mehtar of Chitral, died -died quietly in his bed. And that is such a wonderful thing for a Mehtar of Chitral, that the Chitralis believe he was secretly poisoned. He was called the " Great Mehtar " on account of the conquests he made. He was, moreover, a powerful ruler-powerful in mind and in body. I-IOIV TIIE TROUBLE 1JEGAN. 7 No one had dared to lift a hand against him, and he had reigned many years. On his acces- sion to the inehtarship he had murdered all his relations-his brother, Sher Afzul, alone exaping to Cabul, where he lived in exile all the time his brother reigned. Well, Aman-ul-Mulk was dead. He left behind him sixteen or seventeen sons, and every one knew that a great strife would now take place between the brothers for the mehtarship. The two eldest sons, Nizam-ul-Mulk and Afzul-ul-Mulk, had the strongest claims of all, on account of the rank of their mother. Then came their half-brothers, Amir-ul-Mulk, a youth of nineteen, and Shuja-ul-Mulk, a bright little lad of ten. The other brothers were of lower grades, on account of the lower rank of their mothers- the Mehtar of Chitral having several wives. Nizam-ul-Mulk, the eldest son, was away when his father died ; so Afzul, then present at Chitral, seized the mehtarship, and Nizam fled for refuge to the British Agent at Gilgit, two hundred and twenty miles away. Afzul-ul-Mulk now thought hc was quite safe. His rival, Nizam, was gone. Amir-ul-Mulk was a weak fellow, without much character, and little Shuja was a child. But he had forgotten his uncle, Sher Afzul, living in cxile all this time. Sher Afzul came secretly to Chitral with a few sturdy follonrers when his nephew had been on the throne about two months. Ile appeared suddenly outside the fort wall at midnight, and 8 IIEROES OF TIIE CIIITRAL SIEGE. effected an entrance at the gate. Afzul-ul-Mulk, hearing the noise and confusion, ran out and was shot down directly. Sher Afzul seized the rifles and ammunition, and was proclaimed Mehtar at once by the Chitralis, who are a very changeable people. Besides, Sher Afzul was powerful-and the brother of the old powerful Mehtar. Moreover, he promised houses and lands and rich gifts to all, and became the idol of the people. Then suddenly Nizam-ul-hlulk, who had been away at Gilgit, thought of his rights, and made up his mind to have his own. He crossed the frontier, and was joined by a large number of his old friends. Sher Afzul, hearing of his coming, sent a force of over a thousand men to oppose him ; but these, suddenly remembering their old love for their Mehtar's eldest son, went over to him in their versatility, and returned with him to fight his uncle, Sher Afzul. " The game is up," thought Sher Afzul, and fled back to his old place of exile. Now Nizam-ul-Mulk was very friendly to the British Government. He was a cultivated man, with European tastes, and the Government of India was willing to support him. A mission, consisting of four or five English officers, was sent to Chitral to congratulate him, and to promise him the support that had been given to old Aman-ul-Mulk. Nizam-ul-Mulk strengthened his position, and reigned as hlehtar about one year. If he had beeil more savage and less cultivated, he would IIOIV TIIE TROUBLE BEGAN. 9 probably have put his half-brother Amir to death ; but, knowing that the British Government did not countenance treachery and murder, hc let him live, and in one year reaped the reward of his leniency. Nizam-ul-Mulk was out hawking-a sport that the Mehtars love--in a wood ten or twelve miles from Chitral, when his turban fell off his head, and as he stooped to pick it up one of the followers, at a sign from Amir, shot him in the back, so that he fell dead. The followers shouted " Victory ! " flung their caps in the air, and loudly hailed Amir as Mehtar. Amir-ul-Mulk was but a poor, weak youth, and it is supposed that the murder of his half- brotlzer was suggested by Umra Khan, the Chief of Jandol, who made such a figure in the Chitral Campaign. Umra Khan is the brother-in-law of Amir-ul- Mulk, having married Amir's sister. And Amir had lately been paying him a visit. Umra Khan was a formidable chief. His territory lay south of Chitral, and he was always causing trouble by making inroads on the Chitral villages bordering his own territory. He is a tall, powerful man, it is said, about thirty-six years old, with a long thin face and a big nose. He, too, got bis chiefdom by murdering his eldest brother, and was so enterprising that he annexed much land all round to his own territory, and became a general terror. Now it happened that the political officer, I0 HEROES OF THE CHITRAL SIEGE, Lieutenant Gurdon, was at the capital just then with an escort of eight Sikhs. Immediately after the murder of Nizam, Amir-ul-Mulk hurried back to the capital and went to Gurdon, who had taken up his quarters, for the time, at a large house not far from the fort, known as the political officer's house, and demanded to be recognized as Mehtar. " I have no power to recognize you as Mehtar," said Gurdon, "until the Government of India gives me instructions." Amir was wild with excitement. The thought of waiting for the decision of the Government was intolerable to him. " Promise me that I - shall be recognized," said he in a threatening way. "I can but write and lay your claim before the British Agent in Gilgit," answered Gurdon. And he wrote the letter. But Amir got hold of the letter. "It shall not go," he cried, bubbling. over with excited rage, "until you give me your promise." "My promise will not be binding on the Government," said Gurdon, quietly ; '(but in all probability you will be recognized, for the Government does not interfere with the private affairs of Chitral. But it will prejudice the Government against you if you show distrust of them by stopping my letters now." Amir-ul-Mulk was in a frenzy. In his weak- ness and his great excitement, too, he could not look far ahead. He could not let the letter 20. He would have Gurdon's promise. HOW THE TROUBLE BEGAN. I I It was a terrible moment for the young English soldier. He had only eight men with him. And they were alone amongst a band of men ruled by a rash, weak youth. A great number of the Chitralis hated English influence. What an easy thing it would have been for them to fall upon this handful of men in hundreds and murder them too! Had Gurdon flinched or showed the slightest fear, they would have fallen upon him in a trice.

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